The European Union Delegation to Turkey has issued a statement rejecting recent media reports that claimed EU funds were misused in an İstanbul metro construction project.
The statement released yesterday directly addressed pro-government newspapers Türkiye, Akşam, and Yeni Şafak, which published remarks made by Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu during a press briefing on Jun 22.
According to the reports, Uraloğlu alleged that 60 million euros out of a 110 million-euro EU loan allocated for the metro project was unaccounted for. He cited statements from project contractors claiming the funds had not been used for their intended purpose.
“Company officials involved in the project visited me and said, ‘Work has stopped here, please take it over.’ I told them, ‘There’s already funding, and if I’m not mistaken, our Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek approved the final 110 million euro package. Why did you stop?’ They said, ‘The earlier 60 million euros wasn’t used for our work,’” Uraloğlu was quoted as saying.
He added that he had no information about how the funds were spent. “Honestly, I was shocked. I don’t think such a thing could even be possible, and I don’t know with what courage it was done. I truly don’t know where the money went, but 60 million euros wasn’t used for the project,” he said.
Uraloğlu also pointed out that this happened amid an ongoing corruption investigation targeting the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality. Currently, now-suspended Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and dozens of others, mostly municipal officials and employees, are in pretrial detention as part of the investigation.
In response to the news, the EU Delegation issued a public rebuttal clarifying that the EU has not provided any funding for the metro project in question.
“The claims suggesting misuse of EU funds are entirely false and baseless,” the delegation said. “Contrary to what has been reported, the European Union has no financial contribution to the metro project mentioned in the news articles, neither in EUR 60 million, nor in smaller amounts.”
The EU statement emphasized that its only current financial support in İstanbul is a 6 million-euro project focused on sustainable urban mobility. This includes dedicated bus lanes, low-emission zones in the historic peninsula, Beyoğlu, and Kadıköy districts, and improvements to public transportation.
“The preparations for this EU-funded project are nearing successful completion, and we look forward to announcing further progress in the near future."
The delegation also reaffirmed the ongoing cooperation with both the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality and the Transport and Infrastructure Ministry. (VK)
